Deliveroo to open 30 delivery-only kitchens this year

By Sophie WittsSophie Witts06-Apr-20172017-04-06T00:00:00ZLast updated on 06-Apr-2017 at 12:17 GMT2017-04-06T12:17:55Z

Deliveroo plans to open 30 delivery-only 'dark kitchens' across the UK to bring its service to areas under-served by traditional eat-in restaurants.

The platform, named Deliveroo Editions, will work with over 200 restaurant brands to launch in 10 UK cities by the end of 2017.

Speaking at the official launch in Camberwell, Deliveroo co-founder Will Shu said: “This is the most exciting development for us since we launched the company and we really think this the future of food delivery."

The roll-out follows a trial version of the concept, known as Roobox, which launched in Camberwell, Battersea, Dulwich and Canary Wharf last year.

It works with a mix of established brands such as Meatliqour, Busaba Eathai and Franco Manca as well as Crust Bros and Motu Indian Kitchen, the first delivery-only concept from the JKS Restaurants group.

Each Editions kitchen unit is staffed by up to five chefs hired by the restaurant brands, and features an equipment set-up bespoke to each operator.

Deliveroo can provide all the kitchen infrastructure in exchange for a larger slice of commission, or restaurants can fund the construction themselves and pay the company a smaller fee.

Though Shu was tight-lipped on the number of orders each kitchen can process, he said the revenue generated was ‘not that different’ to a normal restaurant site.

Future plans

While Deliveroo’s rivals such as Just Eat are trialling robot delivery services, the company is still relying on its human couriers to drive its expansion for now.

“18 months ago we sat down with some of our top partners in London, whose brands are based on an in-house concept, and they told us that though we'd increased their revenue they were so busy that front and back-of-house were slammed,” he said.

“So the idea was to segregate the delivery business from the in-house concept so they could do both better. That way we can help people to expand and make a lot more money.”

Deliveroo was founded in London in 2013 and now operates in 12 countries worldwide including Hong Kong, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.